Thermal insulation and temperature control of components

ABSTRACT

A device may include a temperature controlled chamber. The temperature controlled chamber may be coupled to a plurality of strengthening coated capillary tubes. The strengthening coated capillary tubes may support the temperature controlled chamber and provide thermal insulation to the temperature controlled chamber.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATION APPLICAITONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/545,448, filed Aug. 20, 2019, which is a division of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/682,843, filed Aug. 22, 2017, now issued as U.S.Pat. No. 10,470,292 on Nov. 5, 2019, the entire contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Implementations of the present disclosure relate to thermal managementof electronic components.

BACKGROUND

Some electronic components experience changes to their operation basedon changes in temperature. In order to maintain precise operatingparameters, such components may be temperature controlled. Controllingthe temperature may include the use of one or more heating elements andone or more temperature sensors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The described embodiments and the advantages thereof may best beunderstood by reference to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings. These drawings in no waylimit any changes in form and detail that may be made to the describedembodiments by one skilled in the art without departing from the spiritand scope of the described embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an apparatus including a temperaturecontrolled chamber supported by capillary tubes, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an apparatus including a temperaturecontrolled chamber supported by capillary tubes, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a cross-section of a capillary tube,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3B is a diagram showing a cross-section of a capillary tube,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a cross-section of a capillary tube with anelectrically conductive coating, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a cross-section of a capillary tube with anelectrically conductive coating, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4C is a diagram showing a cross-section of a capillary tube with anelectrically conductive coating, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an apparatus having a capillary tubeconnecting a temperature controlled chamber to external components,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an apparatus having a temperature controlledchamber coupled to capillary tubes, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an apparatus having a temperature controlledchamber coupled to capillary tubes, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an apparatus having a temperature controlledchamber coupled to capillary tubes, according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 9A depicts components of an oven-controlled crystal oscillatorduring part of a manufacturing process, according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 9B is a diagram showing components of an oven-controlled crystaloscillator during part of a manufacturing process, according to someembodiments.

FIGS. 9C is a diagram showing components of an oven-controlled crystaloscillator during part of a manufacturing process, according to someembodiments.

FIGS. 9D is a diagram showing components of an oven-controlled crystaloscillator during part of a manufacturing process, according to someembodiments.

FIGS. 9E is a diagram showing components of an oven-controlled crystaloscillator during part of a manufacturing process, according to someembodiments.

FIGS. 9F is a diagram showing components of an oven-controlled crystaloscillator during part of a manufacturing process, according to someembodiments.

FIGS. 9G is a diagram showing components of an oven-controlled crystaloscillator during part of a manufacturing process, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram showing a method of manufacturing atemperature controlled component with capillary tubes for thermalmanagement, according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain electronic components change operational characteristics withvarying temperatures. In particular applications, controlling thetemperature of such components can improve accuracy of the componentsoperation. For example, such components may be contained in atemperature controlled chamber. The temperature of the chamber may becontrolled through a heater and a temperature sensor. Controlling thetemperature of the temperature controlled component may use asignificant amount of power in some applications. In someimplementations, a large part of the power consumption may be due tothermal losses between the temperature controlled component and otherparts of a system. Therefore, by improving the thermal management of thetemperature controlled device, power consumption may be reduced.

An oven-controlled crystal oscillator “OCXO” is a common temperaturecontrolled device. The temperature of the OCXO may be controlled so thatthe frequency of oscillations provided by the OCXO remain accurate andstable. OCXOs may be used for precise frequency control of radiotransmitters, cellular base stations, military communications equipment,and for precision frequency measurement.

There is an increasing demand for crystal oscillators that offerstability without very low power consumption, especially for batterypowered devices, such as military and civilian portable radios and othertransmitting/receiving devices. Other applications for low power OCXOsinclude UAVs and drones, low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, guidancesystems, phase lock loops, and synthesizers. They can also be used toprovide accurate timing and synchronization in devices used where GPScoverage might not be available. Low power OCXO also has applications inhigh-tech medical equipment, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)machines and other diagnostic imaging tools.

Various OCXOs may have power consumption levels of about 1 W-3 W. Otherlower power OCXOs may have power consumption of about 135 mW-180 mW. Asdiscussed above, a cause of the power consumption may be thermal lossfrom the OCXO to other components of the system. Therefore, a heater inthe OCXO may provide additional heat to the system to compensate for thethermal losses. Accordingly, the efficiency and power requirements of anOCXO may be improved by improving the thermal management of the OCXO. Inaddition, improving the thermal management of an OCXO may shorten awarmup period for the OCXO. For example, in some OCXOs, it may takeapproximately 1 minute to warm the air or material around a crystal tothe temperature providing the most stable output. However, by reducingthermal losses around the OCXO, that period may be shortened. Forexample, in some implementations, the warmup period may be reduced toapproximately 10 seconds.

Aspects of this disclosure describe devices, systems, and methods forimproving thermal management in a temperature controlled device. Ingeneral, many of the embodiments may be described with reference toOCXOs. However, the thermal management components described may also beapplied to other temperature controlled devices. Furthermore, thethermal management components may be applied to devices that are nottemperature controlled, but that could benefit from thermal isolationfrom other components of a system.

In some embodiments, components that are to be temperature controlledmay be placed inside a temperature controlled chamber. The temperaturecontrolled chamber may be filled with a gas and sealed. In someembodiments, the temperature controlled chamber may be a solid materialthat has embedded within it the temperature controlled components. Forexample, a solid material may include an epoxy, polymer, plasticmaterial, glass, or the like. In some embodiments, the temperaturecontrolled chamber may be coated with a low emissivity materialsincluding but not limited to aluminum, silver, copper, gold or pallidum,to reduce the heat loss through thermal radiation from the temperaturecontrolled chamber to its external environment. In some embodiments, thecoating thickness varies from several tens of nanometers to several tensof microns.

In some embodiments, capillary tubes may be used as a mechanicalsupporting structure. The capillary tubes may support the temperaturecontrolled chamber, while thermally insulating the temperaturecontrolled chamber from its external environment. The capillary tubesmay also operatively couple the temperature controlled chamber toexternal components. In some embodiments, the capillary tube may includea tube body material with a hollow core. For example, the capillary tubemay be similar structurally to a hollow-core optical fiber. In someembodiments, the tube body may be coated with a strengthening coating toadd structural support to the capillary. Thus, the capillary tube mayhave a strengthening coating layer, a tube body layer, and a core. Insome embodiments, the strengthening coating may be a polymeric coatingthat is to strengthen and protect the tube body material. For example,strengthening coating materials include polyimide, polyamide, parylene,PDMS or the like.

In some embodiments, tube body materials are low thermal conductivitymaterials. For example, tube body materials may include silica,ceramics, polymers, or the like. In some embodiments, the core ishollow. In some embodiment the core materials are low thermalconductivity materials include but not limited to silica, ceramic,polymers, or the like. In some embodiments, an internal diameter of thetube body may be in the range of about zero to several hundreds ofmicrometers. In some embodiments, an outer diameter of the capillarytube may be in the range of about seven tens of microns to about severalhundreds of microns. A capillary tube structure with a strengtheningcoating as described above provides strength, non-brittle and durablecharacteristics to a thin capillary tube. Therefore, the strengtheningcoated capillary tubes used as mechanical support may be bothmechanically robust and a good thermal insulation structure.

In addition to mechanical support, the temperature controlled chambermay be connected with electrical components to other parts of a system.For example, an OCXO may be electrically coupled to components outsidethe temperature controlled chamber to provide an oscillation signal. Thewires to electrically couple temperature controlled components from thetemperature controlled components to external components may provideanother path for thermal losses. Therefore, providing a low thermal losspath for electrical connection between the thermally controlledcomponents and external components can further reduce power consumptionof the temperature controlled components.

In some embodiments, a strengthening coated capillary tube may be coatedwith a thin film layer that is electrically conductive to provide theelectrical connection. For example, the film materials may includecopper, gold, silver, conductive epoxy, Indium Tin Oxide, titanium,nickel, or other electrically conductive materials. In some embodiments,there are plural numbers of the thin film layers with at least one layerof electrically conductive materials and other layers for adhesion,protection or other ancillary reasons that helps the engineering of theelectrically conductive layer/layers. In some embodiments, anelectrically conductive layer may range from about several tens ofnanometers to about several micrometers. The coating method of theelectrical conductive materials include but not limited to evaporation,sputtering, atomic layer deposition (ALD), Chemical vapor deposition(CVD), spray coating and aerosol jet printing. The electricallyconductive layer may therefore provide an electrical connection from thetemperature controlled components to external components.

In some embodiments, multiple strengthening coated capillary tubes maybe used to support the temperature controlled components. For example,the capillary tubes may be glued or bonded to the temperature controlledchamber using a polymer, epoxy, glue, solder, or silica. In someembodiments, conductive materials are used as the connecting materialsfor electrical conducting reasons. For example, conductive bondingmaterials may include silver epoxy or solder. In some embodiments, theconnecting joint can have more than one material.

In some embodiments, there are some capillary tubes (principalsupporting capillary tubes) physically glued or bonded to thetemperature controlled chamber and additional capillary tubes (auxiliarysupporting capillary tubes) having point contact to the main supportingcapillary tubes. The auxiliary supporting capillary tubes may provideadditional mechanical support without adding thermal loss throughthermal conduction due to the point contacts between principalsupporting capillary and the auxiliary supporting capillary tubes. Insome embodiments, the principal supporting capillary tubes and theauxiliary supporting capillary tubes form a mesh.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example embodiment of a system 100including a temperature controlled chamber supported by strengtheningcoated capillary tubes. The system 100 includes a temperature controlledchamber 110 and an outer chamber 120. Within the chamber may be aplurality of components that have operations dependent on controlledtemperature of the system. In some embodiments, the components mayinclude one or more crystal oscillators 112. The system may also includea temperature 114 that is used to determine a temperature for thesystem. The temperature controlled chamber 110 may also include a heater116 to set a temperature for the setting. In some embodiments, theheater 116 may be disposed outside of and in contact with thetemperature controlled chamber 110.

In some embodiments, the temperature controlled chamber 110 may beoperatively coupled to external electronics through capillary tubes 130.In embodiments, the temperature controlled chamber 110 may beoperatively coupled to an external structure 145 by the capillary tubes130. The temperature controlled chamber 110 may be coated with a lowradiation emissivity coating to reduce thermal loss from the temperaturecontrolled chamber 110. In some embodiments, the capillary tubes 130 maybe coupled to additional substrate materials through pin contacts 140.Furthermore, in some embodiments, the temperature controlled chamber 110may be disposed within a second chamber 120. The second chamber 120 maybe an evacuated chamber to reduce losses due to air convection andconduction heat loss.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, rather than a low pressureevacuated chamber 110 as shown in FIG. 1, a solid material may be usedto provide a consistent temperature to a temperature controlled element.Either the solid fill as shown in FIG. 2 or the temperature controlledchamber as shown in FIG. 1 may be coated in a low emissive material toreduce thermal radiation loss from the temperature controlled chamber.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the capillary tubes 130 may be coupled to thetemperature controlled chamber 130. Additionally, the temperaturecontrolled chamber 110 or 210 may be coupled to an additional substratestructure to external pins 140. In some embodiments, in addition to thestructures described, the temperature controlled chamber 110 or 210 maybe of a different structure or form. In addition, the heater 116 shownin FIG. 1 or 2 may be disposed in a different position. For example, theheater 116 may be outside temperature controlled chamber 110 or 210.Furthermore, in some embodiments, additional electronics may be disposedwithin or outside temperature controlled chamber 110 or 210.

FIGS. 3A and 3B depict an example capillary tube 300 as described withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 3A shows a cross-sectional view of thecapillary tube 300 perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the capillarytube 300. FIG. 3B shows a cross-sectional view of the capillary tube 300along the longitudinal axis. In FIGS. 3A and 3B the capillary tube 300includes a fiber body material 310 a core 320, and a strengtheningcoating 330.

In some embodiments, the fiber body material 310 may have an innerdiameter in a range of about hundreds of microns. An outer diameter ofthe fiber body material 310 may be in a range of about tens of micronsto about hundreds of microns. Thus a body thickness of the fiber bodymaterial 310 may be in a range of about tens of microns to abouthundreds of microns. In some embodiments, the fiber body material 310may be made of materials having low thermal conductive properties toimprove thermal insulation of the temperature controlled camber. Forexample, in some embodiments, the fiber body material 310 may be one ofsilica, ceramic, or a polymer material. In some embodiments, the fiberbody material 310 may have no inner diameter and there may be no core320.

In some embodiments the core 320 may be a hollow space within the fiberbody material 310. In some embodiments, the core 320 may be a materialwith low thermal conductivity properties. For example, the core may besilica, ceramic, or a polymer material. While FIGS. 3A and 3B show afiber body material 310 and a core 320, in some embodiments, there maybe additional layers within a capillary tube 300. For instance, theremay be multiple layers within core 320. In some embodiments, there maybe multiple layers of the fiber body material 310 with a hollow core320.

The strengthening coating 330 may improve the structural properties ofthe capillary tube 300. A fiber body material 310 with a core 320 mayprovide sufficient thermal insulation properties to improve theoperation of a temperature controlled chamber as described withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2. However, to provide additional structuralsupport or durability, a strengthening coating 330 may improve theproperties of the capillary tube 300. In some embodiments, thestrengthening coating 330 may be a polymeric coating. For example,strengthening coating materials may include polyimide, polyamide,parylene, PDMS, or the like. In some embodiments, the strengtheningcoating 330 may be another material including non-polymeric materials.In some embodiments, the thickness 350 of the strengthening coating maybe about tens of nanometers to about tens of micrometers.

While FIGS. 3A and 3B show a cylindrical capillary tube 300, in someembodiments, the capillary tube may be a different shape. For instance,the capillary tube 300 may be rectangular, ovular, polygonal, or anyother profile. In addition, different sections of capillary tube 300 mayhave different thicknesses for one or more component. Furthermore, insome embodiments, there may be fewer or additional layers for capillarytube 300 than are shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

FIG. 4A, 4B, and 4C depict example embodiments of a capillary tube 400having an electrical conductive layer 440. In some embodiments, thecapillary tube 400 may be the same or similar to the capillary tubes 300as described with reference 3A and 3B with an additional electricallyconductive layer 440. For example, the capillary tube 400 may have afiber body 410, a core 420, and a strengthening coating 430 as describedwith reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

As described above, the electrically conductive layer 440 may be used toelectrically couple a temperature controlled chamber to externalcircuits. For example, the electrically conductive layer 440 may becoupled to the temperature controlled chamber on one end and to a pin toexternal circuitry on an opposite end. In some embodiments, theelectrically conductive layer 440 may be a thin film applied to theoutside of the capillary tubes. For example, the film materials mayinclude copper, gold, silver, conductive epoxy, Indium Tin Oxide,titanium, nickel, or other electrically conductive materials. In someembodiments, there are plural numbers of the thin film layers with atleast one layer of electrically conductive materials and other layersfor adhesion, protection or other ancillary reasons to provideadditional properties to electrically conductive layer 440.

In some embodiments, the electrically conductive layer 440 may have athickness in a range of about tens of nanometers to about thenmicrometers. In some embodiments, the coating method of the electricalconductive materials include but not limited to evaporation, sputtering,atomic layer deposition (ALD), Chemical vapor deposition (CVD), spraycoating and aerosol jet printing. In some embodiments, the electricallyconductive layer 440 may be continuous and totally cover the capillarytube as shown in FIG. 4A. For example, the capillary tube 400 may berotated during a deposition process to cover all sides of the capillarytube 400. In some embodiments, the electrically conductive layer 440 maybe continuous and partially cover the capillary tube as shown in FIG.4B. For example, during a directional deposition process, the capillarytube may be coated continuously on one side. In some embodiments, theelectrically conductive layer 440 may not be continuous and partiallycover the capillary tube as shown in FIG. 4C. For example, using aerosoljet printing, the capillary tube 400 may coated to provide two tracesfrom the temperature controlled chamber to external circuitry.Accordingly, in some embodiments, the capillary tube 400 may carrymultiple signals to or from the temperature controlled chamber.Furthermore, in some embodiments, the electrically conductive layer 440may cover an entire length of a capillary tube 400. In some embodiments,the electrically conductive layer 440 may cover portions of a length ofa capillary tube 400. For example, different portions of a length ofcapillary tube 400 may have discontinuous electrically conductive layers440.

FIG. 5 depicts an example of system 500 with a capillary tube 510connecting temperature controlled chamber to external components. Thecapillary tube 510 may have a structure similar or the same to thosedescribed in reference to FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 4A-4C. To provide anelectrical connection, the capillary tube 510 may have an electricallyconductive layer 520.

The capillary tube 510 may be coupled to a substrate 540 supporting thetemperature controlled chamber with a silver epoxy or solder 530. Thesilver epoxy or solder 530 may couple the electrically conductive layer520 to a metal trace 525 on the substrate 540. The other end ofcapillary tube 510 may be similarly coupled to an external structure,such as substrate 565, that is part of the shell of the device. In someembodiments, silver epoxy of solder 550 may couple the electricallyconductive layer 520 to a metal trace 560 of the shell. In someembodiments, substrate 565 may include a pin 570 to couple the chamberto external electronics. Accordingly, an electrical connection may beformed from a temperature controlled device to external electronics. Insome embodiments, other structures may be used to couple the capillarytube 520 to external electronics. Furthermore, additional bonding may beprovided for mechanical support in addition to the silver epoxy orsolder 530. In some embodiments, other materials may be used to form anelectrical connection between the capillary tube 510, the substrate 540and the substrate 565.

FIG. 6 depicts an example apparatus 600 of a temperature controlledchamber 630 coupled to capillary tubes 620 through connection points610. The capillary tubes 620 may have a structure similar or the same tothose described in reference to FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 4A-4C. In someembodiments, to provide an electrical connection, one or more of thecapillary tubes 620 may have an electrically conductive layer. Forexample, all of the capillary tubes 620 may have an electricallyconductive layer, a subset of the capillary tubes 620 may have anelectrically conductive layer, or none of the capillary tubes 620 mayhave an electrically conductive layer.

While the apparatus shown in FIG. 6 includes four capillary tubes 620,in some embodiments there may be fewer or additional capillary tubes620. In addition, the capillary tubes 620 may have a differentarrangement or may be connected at different connection points. Forexample, there may be capillary tubes 620 attached to all sides of thetemperature controlled chamber, capillary tubes 620 attached to thecorners of the temperature controlled chamber, or attached at otherangles than shown. In addition, in some embodiments, the temperaturecontrolled chamber may not be rectangular, but may be another shape.

In some embodiments, the capillary tubes 620 may be mechanically orelectrically coupled to the temperature controlled chamber 630, throughconnection points 610. In some embodiments, different connection points610 may have different bonding materials depending on whether theconnection point is providing an electrical connection between thecapillary tubes 620 and the temperature controlled chamber 630. Forexample, a subset of connection points 610 may be have bonding materialsincluding a silver epoxy or solder while other bonding materials may bea polymer. In some embodiments, one or more of the connection points 610may be polymer, epoxy, glue, solder, silica, or the like. In someembodiments, the capillary tubes 620 may be coupled to the temperaturecontrolled chamber 630 using multiple materials or layers of materials.

FIG. 7 depicts an example apparatus 700 of a temperature controlledchamber 705 coupled to capillary tubes 710 through connection points715. In addition, the example apparatus 700 may include supplementalcapillary tubes 720. The capillary tubes 710 and supplemental capillarytubes 720 may have a structure similar or the same to those described inreference to FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 4A-4C. In some embodiments, to provide anelectrical connection, one or more of the capillary tubes 710 may havean electrically conductive layer. In some embodiments, all of thecapillary tubes 710 may have an electrically conductive layer, a subsetof the capillary tubes 710 may have an electrically conductive layer, ornone of the capillary tubes 710 may have an electrically conductivelayer. In some embodiments, the supplemental capillary tubes 720 may nothave an electrically conductive layer as the supplemental capillarytubes 720 are not coupled to the temperature controlled chamber 705.

In some embodiments, the supplemental capillary tubes 720 may be coupledto the capillary tubes 710 through point contacts. For instance, thecapillary tubes 710 may rest on the supplemental capillary tubes 720.Accordingly, while providing support and additional durability, thesupplemental capillary tubes 720 may have a minimal amount of contactwith the capillary tubes 710. The minimal contact may further reducethermal loss through supplemental capillary tubes 720.

In some embodiments, there may be additional capillary tubes. Forexample, FIG. 8 depicts an example apparatus 800 of a temperaturecontrolled chamber 810 coupled to capillary tubes 820 through connectionpoints 830 and having additional supplemental capillary tubes 830. Thecapillary tubes 820 and supplemental capillary tubes 830 may beconstructed to form a mesh. In some embodiments, the mesh may provideadditional mechanical support and durability while maintaining pointcontact between the capillary tubes 820 and the supplemental capillarytubes 830. In some embodiments, the apparatus 800 may have a differentnumber of connection points 830, capillary tubes 820, supplementalcapillary tubes 830 or different temperature controlled chambers 810.

FIGS. 9A through 9G depict components of an OCXO during parts ofmanufacturing processes. In some embodiments, the processes ofmanufacturing the OCXO may involve fewer or additional steps.Furthermore, the process as shown in FIGS. 9A through 9G may beperformed in a different order. While the processes are shown for anOCXO, having different electronics in the temperature controlled chamberwould provide other types of devices in a temperature controlled chamberand thermally isolated from external components. For example, capillarytubes may be used to provide thermal isolation for components that arekept at a cooled state relative to other components. Furthermore, insome embodiments, the capillary tubes may be used to provide thermalisolation between components that are not temperature controlled.

Beginning in FIG. 9A, the electronics of the temperature controlleddevice 900 are assembled on a substrate. For example, an OCXO mayinclude a crystal resonator 912, a temperature sensor 914, a heater 916,and potentially additional electronics 918. In some embodiments, atemperature controlled device 900 may include fewer or additionalcomponents than those shown. In addition, other temperature controlleddevices 900 may include different components depending on theapplication. In some embodiments, the components may be assembled on asubstrate such as a silicon wafer, or other substrates. In someembodiments, the electronics may be assembled on other structures. Inaddition to the electronics, in some embodiments, metal or otherelectronically conductive traces 922 may be applied to the substrates toprovide electrical connections from the substrate. For example, metaltraces may be used to attach to capillary tubes.

In FIG. 9B, capillary tubes 930 may be attached to the substrate usingepoxy or another bonding material 925. The Attach the fibers (fibers aremetalized) to the substrate using epoxy. For example, the epoxy may be apolymer based bonding material. In FIG. 9C, the capillary tubes may becoupled electronically to metal traces 922. For example a silver epoxy,solder, or other electrically conductive bonding material 925 may beused to electronically couple metal traces 922 to the capillary tubes930.

In FIG. 9D, a temperature controlled chamber 960 may be hermeticallysealed around the assembled electronics. In some embodiments, thetemperature controlled chamber 960 may be filled with a gas and sealedto prevent the gas from leaking. FIG. 9E shows an alternative embodimentwherein the electronic components are sealed within a solid materialsuch as an epoxy, polymer, or other solid fill. In either of theembodiments shown in FIGS. 9D or 9E, may be coated with a low emissionmaterial to reduce radiation losses. For example, the temperaturecontrolled chamber 960 may be coated with a metal 965 such as gold,copper, aluminum, a polymer, or another low radiation material.

In FIG. 9F, the capillary tubes 930 are attached to a substrate 970 toelectronically couple the temperature controlled device 900 to externalcomponents. For example, the capillary tubes 930 may be coupled throughbonding materials 980 and electrically conductive bonding materials 975similar or the same as the bonding materials used to bind the capillarytubes 930 to the substrate 920 and metal traces 922 as described withreference to FIGS. 9B and 9C.

In FIG. 9G, the temperature controlled chamber 960 may be vacuum sealedwithin a vacuum package 990. For example, the vacuum package may reducethermal losses due to convection outside of the temperature controlleddevice 900. In some embodiments, instead of vacuum sealing thetemperature controlled chamber 960 within a vacuum package 990, thetemperature controlled chamber 960 may be sealed in a gas filledchamber. For instance, the outer chamber 990 may be filled Argon oranother gas having low thermal conductivity. In addition, pins 985 maybe provided through a shell composed of a substrate 995 and the vacuumpackage 990. Accordingly, the temperature controlled device 900 may besealed within a temperature controlled chamber 960, and connected toexternal electronics through a shell.

FIG. 10 depicts a flow diagram 1010 of an example process ofmanufacturing a temperature controlled device with capillary tubes forthermal management. Beginning in block 1000, a plurality of capillarytubes is attached to a substrate. For example, the capillary tubes maybe similar to those described with reference to the preceding Figures.In some embodiments, the capillary tubes may be attached with a bondingmaterial such as a polymer, epoxy, glue, solder, silica, or the like.

Moving to block 1020 the capillary tubes are electronically coupled toelectronic components attached to the substrate. For example, anelectronically conductive coating of the capillary tubes may be coupledto metal traces on the substrate. In some embodiments, conductivematerials are used as the connecting materials for electrical conductingcoating. For example, conductive bonding materials may include silverepoxy or solder. In some embodiments, the connecting joint can have morethan one material.

In block 1030, the electronic components may be enclosed in atemperature controlled chamber. For example, the electronic componentsmay be enclosed in a chamber such as shown in FIG. 9D or temperaturecontrolled chamber 110 as described with reference to FIG. 1.

In block 1040 the plurality of capillary tubes are attached to a secondsubstrate. For example, the second substrate may have pins toelectronically couple the temperature controlled components to externalelectrical components. For example, the second substrate may have metaltraces or other electronic components that are attached to the capillarytubes.

In block 1050, the plurality of capillary tubes, the temperaturecontrolled chamber and the substrates may be vacuum sealed in a secondchamber. For example, the second chamber may be as described withreference to component 990 of FIG. 9G or 120 with reference to FIG. 1.

Various operations are described as multiple discrete operations, inturn, in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the presentdisclosure, however, the order of description may not be construed toimply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. Inparticular, these operations need not be performed in the order ofpresentation.

The preceding description sets forth numerous specific details such asexamples of specific systems, components, methods, and so forth, inorder to provide a good understanding of several embodiments of thepresent disclosure. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art,however, that at least some embodiments of the present disclosure may bepracticed without these specific details. In other instances, well-knowncomponents or methods are not described in detail or are presented insimple block diagram format in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuringthe present disclosure. Thus, the specific details set forth are merelyexemplary. Particular embodiments may vary from these exemplary detailsand still be contemplated to be within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Additionally, some embodiments may be practiced in distributed computingenvironments where the machine-readable medium is stored on and orexecuted by more than one computer system. In addition, the informationtransferred between computer systems may either be pulled or pushedacross the communication medium connecting the computer systems.

Embodiments of the claimed subject matter include, but are not limitedto, various operations described herein. These operations may beperformed by hardware components, software, firmware, or a combinationthereof.

Although the operations of the methods herein are shown and described ina particular order, the order of the operations of each method may bealtered so that certain operations may be performed in an inverse orderor so that certain operation may be performed, at least in part,concurrently with other operations. In another embodiment, instructionsor sub-operations of distinct operations may be in an intermittent oralternating manner.

The above description of illustrated implementations of the invention,including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.While specific implementations of, and examples for, the invention aredescribed herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalentmodifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as thoseskilled in the relevant art will recognize. The words “example” or“exemplary” are used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, orillustration. Any aspect or design described herein as “example” or“exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the words“example” or “exemplary” is intended to present concepts in a concretefashion. As used in this application, the term “or” is intended to meanan inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unlessspecified otherwise, or clear from context, “X includes A or B” isintended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, ifX includes A; X includes B; or X includes both A and B, then “X includesA or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition,the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appendedclaims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unlessspecified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singularform. Moreover, use of the term “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” or“an implementation” or “one implementation” throughout is not intendedto mean the same embodiment or implementation unless described as such.Furthermore, the terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” etc. asused herein are meant as labels to distinguish among different elementsand may not necessarily have an ordinal meaning according to theirnumerical designation.

It will be appreciated that variants of the above-disclosed and otherfeatures and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined intomay other different systems or applications. Various presentlyunforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations, orimprovements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in theart which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.The claims may encompass embodiments in hardware, software, or acombination thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of manufacturing an electronic device,comprising: enclosing electronic components in a temperature controlledchamber, wherein enclosing the electronic components in the temperaturecontrolled chamber comprises hermetically sealing the temperaturecontrolled chamber; and packaging a plurality of capillary tubes, asubstrate, and the temperature controlled chamber in a vacuum chamber.2. The method of claim 1, further comprising coating the temperaturecontrolled chamber in a low emissive material.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein packaging the plurality of capillary tubes and the substratecomprises attaching the plurality of capillary tubes to the substrateusing epoxy.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing asecond set of capillary tubes to support the plurality of capillarytubes attached to the substrate.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising providing an outer shell to house the temperature controlledchamber.
 6. An oven-controlled crystal oscillator comprising: atemperature controlled chamber disposed within a vacuum packagedassembly; and a crystal oscillator disposed within the temperaturecontrolled chamber, wherein the temperature controlled chamber is asolid material housing the crystal oscillator and a temperature sensor.7. The oven-controlled crystal oscillator of claim 6, furthercomprising: a plurality of capillary tubes electrically coupled to thecrystal oscillator, wherein: a first end of each of the plurality ofcapillary tubes is coupled to the temperature controlled chamber; and asecond end of each of the plurality of capillary tubes is coupled to asupport structure.
 8. The oven-controlled crystal oscillator of claim 6,further comprising an outer shell having a low pressure chamber to housethe temperature controlled chamber.
 9. The oven-controlled crystaloscillator of claim 8, wherein the low pressure chamber also houses theplurality of capillary tubes.
 10. The oven-controlled crystal oscillatorof claim 7, further comprising: a second plurality of capillary tubeshaving a hollow core and a polymer coating, wherein the second pluralityof capillary tubes is not coupled to the temperature controlled chamber.11. The oven-controlled crystal oscillator of claim 10, wherein theplurality of capillary tubes and the second plurality of capillary tubesform a mesh to support the temperature controlled chamber.
 12. Theoven-controlled crystal oscillator of claim 7, wherein the plurality ofcapillary tubes is electrically coupled to the crystal oscillatorthrough an electrically conductive layer of the plurality of capillarytubes.
 13. The oven-controlled crystal oscillator of claim 6, furthercomprising an external structure operatively coupled with thetemperature controlled chamber.